Under the condition “if I marry again, the second wife gets a major divorce”, the third wife is not divorced

Question

A man, while his first wife is with him and while fully in his senses, puts in writing that for the rest of his life he will not marry a second time, and if he does, then it is as though: the second wife is under a major (mughallaza) divorce and will be haram. Then, while his first wife is with him, he marries a second time. In this case, as a result of breaching the undertaking, will a major divorce take effect on the second wife or not?

Answer

The first wife remains in the nikah as before; the second wife, however, became haram the moment the nikah was contracted, and it is not permissible to keep her. The oath, though, has also come to an end; that is, if he wishes to bring a third wife into his nikah, he may do so: she will not become haram because of this oath.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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